Propeller construction for aircraft



Sept. 11, 1934. w. P. PERRY 1,973,266

PROPELLER CONSTRUCTION FOR AIRCRAFT Filed March 10, 1930 avmnmtoz Patented Sept. 11, 1934 UNITED STATES PROPELLER CONSTRUCTION FOR AIRCRAFT Willard Parker Perry, Scudder Falls, N. J.

Application March 10, 1930, Serial No. 434,602

7 Claims.

This invention relates to airplanes. It is an object of the invention to provide means for lowering the air resistance offered to the passage of the airplane through the air.

Other objects of the invention are to produce increased propelling thrust and lifting power, and to provide improved control of the airplane.

With these general objects in view, the inven- ,tion consists in the features, combinations, .ar-

' rangements and details which will first be described in connection with the accompanying drawing and then more particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

, In the drawing:

- Figure 1 is a side view of the front part of an airplane, to which my invention is applied;

Figure 2 is a front view of the airplane; and Figure 3 shows a blank from which is formed .a blade in accordance with the invention. Figure 4 is a cross section taken on line 4-4 of Figure 2.

Referring more particularly to the drawing, the numeral 10 designates the front part of the v fuselage of an airplane. On the front of the fuselage is mounted a bladed propeller 11. This propeller is on a horizontal shaft 12, as in the usual airplane construction, and this shaft is driven by the internal combustion engine of the airplane to rotate the propeller. The propeller blades are shaped and designed so that, when rotated, they produce a propelling thrust on the air for propelling the airplane.

The invention in its entirety involves means for lowering the resistance offered to the passage of the airplane through the air. In the present best practice of the invention, the lowering of resistance is accomplished by evacuating the air in front of the fuselage and the center of the propeller. Although capable of various construc- 9 tions, in the present embodiment, the air evacuating means comprise blades 13 which rotate with the propeller. As here shown, the blades are affixed to the front of a rotary body such as a disk 14 which is suitably fastened to the shaft 12 in front of the propeller and rotates with the shaft and propeller. Each blade is arranged at an angle to the radius with the inner end in advance, considered in respect of the direction of rotation.

The blades are angularly disposed relative to the disk and form pockets l5 therewith which have open sides facing in the direction of rotation.

When the propeller disk and blades rotate, the

air in front of the propeller center is sucked in at the axis of rotation, passed outwardly in said pockets and thrown into the rotating propeller blades. There is thus created a suction in front of the disk which lowers the air resistance (both frontal and skin resistance) offered to the passage of the airplane, facilitates its travel and provides increased speed. The density of the air acted upon by the propeller blades is increased by the added quantity delivered by the rotating blades with the result that the propeller develops a greater propelling thrust. This increased air density acts on the wings to augment the lifting power and make it possible to reach higher elevations and is also felt back on the tail surfaces to provide a better control.

The present embodiment includes an advantageous form of blade. As here shown, the blade is of sheet metal, bent to form a front or under face or side and a slightly larger rear or outer face whereby the blade seats angularly against the face of the disk, forming the pocket therewith, and is progressively thicker in cross-section toward the disk for the purpose of strength. The particular blank shown in Figure 3 is adapted to be bent along lines 21, 22 to form the inner face 23, the larger outer face 24 and an end 25. The bent edge 21 forms the advance or cutting edge of the blade. The blade is seated against the body or disk 14 and welded or otherwise attached to it. Unattached adjoining edges of the blade are also preferably welded.

Any number of blades sufficient to evacuate the air immediately in front of the propeller may be applied to the disk but each blade should advantageously be arranged at the same angle to the radius.

A certain amount of power is needed to rotate the disk and its blades but the advantages resulting from their employment more than oifset the power thus used.

What is claimed is:

1. The combination with an aircraft propeller of a rotary disk on the propeller shaft in front of the propeller and blades on the front face of said disk, said blades being disposed angularly to the disk and forming therewith pockets having open sides facing in the direction of rotation, said blades also being arranged angularly to the radii of the disk with their inner ends in advance in the direction of rotation.

2. The combination with an aircraft propeller of a rotary disk on the propeller shaft in front 163 of the propeller and blades on the front face of said disk, said blades being disposed angularly to the disk and forming therewith pockets having open sides facing in the direction of rotation, said blades also being arranged angularly to the lit radii of the disk with their inner ends in advance in the direction of rotation, each blade being formed of sheet metal, bent to form an under side and a slightly larger outer side, and having a progressively thicker cross-section toward the body.

3. The combination with an aircraft propeller, of a rotary disk centrally disposed in front of the non-thrust area of the propeller and means on the front of said disk for impelling a body of air in the region of such area outwardly in a substantially radial direction.

4. The combination with a bladed aircraft propeller of a rotatable disk located on the forward side of the propeller and comprehendingthe central non-thrust area of the propeller and means cooperative with said disk to divert a body of air in front of such area outwardly in a substantially radial direction into the thrust area of the propeller blades.

5. The combination with a bladed aircraft propeller of a centrally located disk of lesser diameter than the propeller disposed on the forward side thereof and rotatable therewith, and blades onsaid disk. adapted to divert a body of air outwardly in a substantially radial direction beyond the disk and into the path of the propeller blades. 6. The combination with a bladed aircraft propeller of a rotatable disk centrally disposed in front of the non-thrust area of the propeller and blades on the front side of said disk disposed angularly with respect to the radii of the disk and to the disk itself, said blades being of a size sufficient to create a partial vacuum in the non-thrust area of the propeller and being disposed to impel air outwardly from such area in a substantially radial direction into the thrust zone of the propeller blades.

' '7. In combination, a bladed aircraft propeller having a central open area on its forward side at and around its axis defining the non-thrust zone of'the propeller} and means for diverting air enter ing the central non-thrust zone outwardly into the thrust zone and producing a partial vacuum in the region of the propeller axis, said means including a fiat surface lying parallel to the path of movement of the propeller in the central nonthrust zone together with supplemental blades located on the forward side of the propeller and rotatable therewith having operating faces coactive withsaid flat surface to direct the air outwardly along said flat surface from the nonthrust zone at substantially right angles to the direction of air which enters the thrust zone.

WILLARD PARKER PERRY. 

